Castle Freak - An eighties horror movie in the nineties

I'm sure if I didn't know that 'Castle Freak' was made in 1995 I'd swear it was made in the early eighties among the crop of other similar 'video nasties.' For some reason it just looks and feels like it belongs among them.  It has a family who 'win' (yes, seriously - even they acknowledge that they thought it sounded like a hoax!) a castle in Italy.  Therefore, they naturally move in and ask no further questions.  Guess what... they're not alone in there.

There's a lot in 'Castle Freak' that's done right and a lot that's been done before.  There's only three family members, so not that many to be stalked and killed by whatever is lurking in the darkness.  Therefore, a few secondary characters need to be introduced in order to up the bodycount.  Jeffry Combs is the father of the family and does his best with the script and the 'backstory' his character has been given.  I know he's a bit of a 'B-list legend' when it comes to acting in horror films, but - personally - I've never really gone for his acting methods.  Yes, I love some of the other eighties cult classics he's starred in, but my criticism still applies when it comes to how he carries his characters.

'Castle Freak' is effectively a 'monster movie' with a creature picking off the cast one by one.  Nothing too original and, as I say, you've probably seen it all before.  What possibly makes this one worth a watch (and possibly deserving of its 'cult status?') is the excessive - and particularly grisly - levels of gore.  The make-up is very well done when it comes to the 'creature effects,' even with the limited budget.  However, you will need a bit of a strong stomach when it comes to some of the violence and there are a few scenes that will probably make you wince.

Overall, there's nothing amazing here, but if you're a fan of low budget eighties horror films (even 'eighties' ones that came out in the nineties!) with good effects and gore (and you have a strong stomach!) then you'll probably enjoy this one.  It's a bit cheesy here and there, but if you're a fan of the genre, you're probably okay with that and can forgive its various short-comings.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that